MONCTON, N.B. — The Crown says the testimony of a New Brunswick man who denies kidnapping a woman last year and keeping her captive in his one-room basement apartment for nearly a month is “pure fiction.”

Romeo Cormier has pleaded not guilty in the alleged abduction of a 55-year-old woman in Moncton in February 2010.

Cormier has testified that the woman was an acquaintance of his who wanted to be with him and enlisted him in a plot to kill her husband.

But during closing arguments today, Crown lawyer Marc Savoie dismissed Cormier’s testimony as “pure fiction, pure fabrication” that should not raise any doubts for the jury about the accused’s guilt.

Earlier today, the defence raised doubts of his own about the testimony of the woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.

Robert Rideout said the fact she didn’t try to escape for 26 days, there was a window she could have smashed and had access to tools and knives in Cormier’s apartment raises questions about the credibility of her testimony.

The 63-year-old Cormier is charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, assault with a weapon, theft and uttering death threats.